Shock absorber



Patented Feb. 2, 1926.

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JACK CALDWELL, OF LOS ANG-ELEG, .CLIFORLTIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 `RC!BlEll'l NELE'DN FERGUSON, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA.

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Application tiled July 22, 1.925. Serial No. 45,230.

Ton @ZZ zo/ 10m .z't 77mg/ concern .Be it known that I, JACK CALDWELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles in the count olf Los Angeles Q 'l J7 .2'3

and Stateef California, have invented new and userpul llnprovements in Shockifibsorb ers, ot which the following is a specification.`

My invention is a shock absorber for automobiles adapted to be positioned between tbefrane and the springs to prevent eX- eessivespringzaction `and also to give easy riding over small irregularities of the road.

My shock absorber' is secured in a pivoted yokethc opposite arms ot the yoke being connected respectively to the trame and to the spring and having niyshock absorber spring between the arms ot the yoke. More specifically, my invention as applied to the front axle consists ot a curved yoke extending forwardly and upwardly from .the forward end ot the iframe and having a hinged lower arin bent substantially in a semi-circle downwardly withits rear end connected to 'the frontend. of the spring. l .prefer to secure the upper armrigidly to the trame by a brace extending backwardly from the upper arni and bolted to the trame. This brace may have a bumper resiliently mounted ftberein. y

n the rear spring I prefer to secure the two semi-circular arms of the yoke with their inner ends connected respectively to the end of the traine and the spring and being swivelled together with the addition of a spring shackle connecting the lower arm of 'theyoke to the spring. My spring mounting between the arms of the yoke comprises 'a pair et telescoping cylinders with a coil spring situated therein. The lower cylinder terms a cupwhicli is tilled with grease and the upper cylinder is provided with a greasing aperture and with an air valve toallow passage o' air en the up and down movement ot the spring but to prevent spraying ort' the oil.

lily invention will be more readily understood from the following description and drawings, in which;

`Figure 1 is a' side elevation o't' niy shock absorber as attached to the 'front ot a traine and to the trout spring.

Fig. Slis a plan ot the absorber of Fig. 2 in the direction o1r` the'arrow 3.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section of Fig. 1 on the line 4-4 in the direction of the arrows, showing' the grease cylinders with the compression spring therein and part of the yoke arms.

Fig. 5 is a detailed section on thefline 5 5 of Fig.` 3.

- Fig. Gis a detailed section on the line 6-6 ot' Fig. 3. u

Referring particularly yto Figs. 1 and 4, the `front portion of a vehicle traine is indicated by thelnuineral lyliaving the usual type oit spring 2v with my shock absorber designated `generally 4by .the numeral 3 swivelly connected between `the frame and the spring-by means of swivel bolts 4 and 5.

The shock absorber yoke is designated by the numeral `6 and comprisesan upper arm 7 and alower arrn 8 pivotally connected by the pin 9. These arms are of arcuate shape and each forms substantially a semi-circle. A pairol grease cylinders 10 and 11 are telescopically mounted one in .relation to the other and have vbase portions 12 with lugs 13 on opposite sides so that the grease cylinders may each be secured to the upper and lower arms yof the yoke by means of bolts 14. These cylinders form a close sliding lit and in addition preferably have packing rings L5. The inner cylinder 10 contains a coil spring 16 which bears against the bases of the lower and upper cylinders and is suliiciently-strong to prevent the ends of the spring and the frame from contacting. The inner cylinder is loaded with grease to lubricate the spring and the wall of the two sliding cylinders.

It desired the upper arm inay be held rigid in relation to the vtranieand in the construction shown in Fig. 1 an integral block 17 extends upwardly from the arin 7 and has lugs 18 at the top to which a brace 19 is connected by a pin 20. The foot of the brace 21 is shaped to coliform to the trarne and. clamped thereto by a shackle 22. lWith this construction .the yoke may be swivelled somewhat up and down and the brace contorni to the shape of ditterent trames.V

l preferably secure a bumper 23 in the block by a bumper rod 24 which kis slidable in a bore 25 and retained in outward po; sition by a spring 26 bearing against the base 27 of the bore through which extends a reduced stem 28 of the bumper rod.

A rebound strap 29 is threaded through a slot 30 in the upper arm and a slot 31 in the lower arm and may hang loosely so as to stop the upthrow.

The shock absorber for the rear end of the frame is indicated particularly in Figs. 2 and 3 in which the end oit the frame is designated by the numeral 40, the spring 4I, the yoke by 42 connected by `swivel bolts 43 and 44. The yoke is constructed with an upper and a lower arcuate arm 45 and 46 connected by a pin 47. The inner end of the lower arm is connected by a shackle 48 between the swivel bolt 44 and the swivel pin 50 on the end of the arm. In this construction the arms of the yoke are arcuatelyshaped, the upper arm being shown as substantially semi-circular, the lower arm with the shackle 48 also forms substantially a semi-circle.

The shock absorber cylinders are substantially the same as shown andvdescribed in connection with Figs. l and 4 and are therefore designated by the same numerals lO and 11. In this construction both the upper and the lower arm are free to swivel in regard to the frame and to the spring, thus giving a free acting connection at the rear ot the vehicle where most of the passengers-are usually seated.

The air check is shown particularly in Fig. 5 and is formed by a plug 51 screw threaded into the top of the cylinder 11 having a passage therethrough 52 with a series. of very small lateral passages 53. A cap 54 internally screw threaded may be threaded up and down on the plug to open one or more of the lateral passages 58 to varythe total size of Y passage through which air may enter and be pressed out of the telescoping cylinders by their action.

. The oiling plug for the cylinders is illustrated particularly in Fig. 6 in which a screw threaded plug 55 is secured to the upper end ot the cylinder ll'and has a central bore 5G therein with a small aperture? at the base forming an oil opening and also a seat 58 for the spring 59 which supports the ball valve 60. The valve seat G1 is 'formed in a cup 62, screw threaded on the upper end ot' the plug 55. By this construction oil may be introduced into the cylinders by depressing the ball valve but the spring is of suticient resistance so that it will not function to allow air to flow in or out through the oil opening.

It is believed the operation of my shock absorbers will be obvious from the above description.r The arms of the yokes are maintained` separated by the coil springs in the telescoping cylinders and will function under slight irregularities of the road to give an additional resiliency to the main vehicle springs. However, when large bumps are encountered there is material resistance to the compression or elongating o'f the telescoping cylinders due to either the compression of the air contained therein or the air pressure on the outside resisting the formation of a vacuum by the spreading apart of the arms of the yoke.

I prefer to mount the upper yoke in a substantially rigid position on the Yfront of the trame as shown in Fig. l as it is not necessary nor desirable that the engine end of the machine be as resiliently carried as the passenger part of the vehicle. The rear end however, is mounted in a more resilient construction in that the upper and lower arms of the yoke are free to swivel and a shackle is introduced between one of the arms and the spring. v

My invention may be materially modified to suit dierent circumstances and types of vehicles and also be adapted 'for dilerent forms oit springs. Moreover, the various proportions of the arms in relation to the position of the telescopic cylinder may be changed to give a greater ora lesser leverage in acting thereon. Other changes will also be obvious within the scope of my invention. y

I-Iaving described my invention, what I claim is: c

l.. A shock absorber having a yoke with pivotally connected arms, means to connect he Jfree ends of the arms to the frame and an element connected to the run-ning gear and means inside the yoke between the arms to resist spreading and contraction of the yoke.

2. vA shock absorber comprising in com-l bination a yoke having a pair of pivotally connected arms, a vehicle frame, a connection thereto to one arm, a vehicle spring, a connection thereto to another arm and means positioned in the yoke to attach to each arm to resist compression and expansion of the yoke.

3. A shock absorber as claimed in claim 2, in which the arms are arcuately shaped and with their concaved faces towards cach other, the pivotal connection ot the arms being on the opposite side ot the resistance element from the connection to the frame and the springs.

4. A shock absorber comprising in combination a yoke having pivotally connected arcuate arms, a pair ot telescopic cylinders, each swivelly connected to an arm containing a compressible medium and means to attach the tree ends of the arms to relatively mov- A ing parts of a vehicle.

5. A shock absorber as claimed in claim 4, having in addition an air passage to the telescopic cylinders and meansito regulate the size of said passage.

6. A shock absorber as claimed in claim 4, having a valve to introduce oil through one of the cylinders, said valve having a valve member normally pressed against the valve seat to restrict the passage of air through the oil valve to and from the teleseopie cylinders.

7. A shock absorber comprising in combination a yoke having a plurality of arcuate arms with their concave faces Jtowards each other, a pivot pin connecting the arms together, a pair of cylinders attached to said arms telescoping one within the other, a compression spring in the cylinders adapted to press against the base of each cylinder and means to attach the free armsl to two relatively moving parts of a vehicle.

8. A shock absorber as claimed in claim 7, having in addition a bumper mounted on one of the arms.

9. A shock absorber' as claimed in claim Y, having in addition a bumper slidably mounted in one of the arms and a brace from the arm adapted to engage a part of a vehicle. l

10. A shock absorber comprising in combination a vehicle frame, a vehicle spring, an arcuate yoke having a pair of pivotally connected arms, the free ends of the arms being attached respectively to theV frame and the spring, a resilient element between the two arms of the yoke, a brace connected te one of the arms and attached at its other end to the frame of the vehicle.

l1. A shock absorber as claimed in claim lO, having in addition a bumper slidably mounted in the arin having the brace and a resilient element in said arm to take the thrust from the bumper.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

J. CALDWELL. 

